Queens Park Rangers 1 Blackburn Rovers 1: match report

Read a full match report of the Premier League game between Queens Park
Rangers and Blackburn Rovers at Loftus Road on Saturday Oct 15 2011.

Rallying the troops: Christopher Samba tries to jee up his Blackburn team-mates after scoring against QPRPhoto: PA

By Ben Findon, at Loftus Road

5:00PM BST 15 Oct 2011

Neil Warnock has issued a scathing attack on the Queens Park Rangers fan who leaked sensitive team information to a website on the eve of this clash at Loftus Road.

Warnock accused the fan of making public QPR’s team news on Friday, revealing that DJ Campbell had suffered a training-ground injury which is set to keep him out for two months and that Adel Taarabt would also be absent.

He also disclosed Warnock’s plan to play Jamie Mackie and Heidar Helguson in attack. The fan is understood to have learned the information from a member of Warnock’s squad, although not a first-team regular.

Warnock said: “This was supposed to be a supporter. You don’t want many like that. The fan puts on this website that Campbell has broken his foot, Helguson is playing and Mackie is making his debut, while Adel is out.

“What an advantage for the opposition. You don’t gain anything from that. Obviously he has got a contact, hasn’t he?”

Warnock was almost as livid with what he believes to be the cause of Campbell’s injury: modern, lightweight football boots.

“It looks like he has got a metatarsal problem so he could be out for a few weeks. He might have to have an operation. I think it is these stupid boots, they’re like carpet slippers. I think they are absolutely stupid boots to wear.”

Steve Kean’s demeanour was considerably more relaxed than Warnock’s, even though the Scot had returned from a club visit to their Indian owners knowing he had three matches in which to turn things around.

Blackburn Rovers may have slipped to the foot of the table but the powers of a restorative break were evident in a vastly improved performance.

The “Kean Out” flags remained stowed away among Blackburn’s 971-strong travelling support for, anchored by Chris Samba at the back and with Martin Olsson and Steven N’Zonzi always a threat, Blackburn had rather the better of a match that started brightly but settled into a stalemate.

Kean, whose next two tasks are against Tottenham and Norwich, said: “Any momentum gathered from any game away from home is good. The dressing room is a little bit disappointed because they felt we had done enough, with sustained pressure in periods of the game, to nick it. It was a good trip to India and we had some good team spirit today.”

Kean’s men could barely have envisaged a worse start, however, conceding a 16th-minute goal. Alejandro Faurlin’s corner reached Helguson, whose goal-bound header cannoned back off team-mate Mackie, making an emotional return after suffering a double fracture of his leg against the same opponents in January. Rovers’ failed to react as the ball fell back to Helguson, who guided an audacious chip over Paul Robinson and into the far corner.

“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” mocked the QPR support, but Blackburn responded quickly and were level within eight minutes, Samba delivering his first goal of the season, rising to head powerfully home.

QPR had managed just one goal in their three home games before yesterday and the lack of a cutting edge was still apparent. Shaun Wright-Phillips struggled, though he did muster a moment of danger on the half-hour mark, sending a low shot inches wide.

Samba was a threat at set-pieces but Blackburn also found other avenues forward. Taarabt was summoned in the 64th minute and he soon found a way through but miscued on the edge of the penalty area. Blackburn, however, almost had the final say, Paddy Kenny reacting well to push away an Olsson drive.